Floyd Dell
| death_place = Bethesda, Maryland, United States | occupation = critic; magazine editor; novelist | known_for = Friday Literary Review, The Masses. Homecoming | influences = | influenced = | signature = Floyddellsig.png }} Floyd James Dell (June 28, 1887 – July 23, 1969) was an American poet, novelist, playwright, editor, and literary critic, called "one of the most flamboyant, versatile and influential American Men of Letters of the first third of the 20th Century."Krupnick, Mark (1996). Floyd Dell, Sensible Rebel [Review of the book Essays From the Friday Literary Review, 1909-1913, by Floyd Dell (Edited by R. Craig Sautter)]. Chicago Tribune, February 25, 1996. Life Overview As editor and critic, Dell's influence is alive in the work of many major American writers from the 1st half of the 20th century. A lifelong poet, he was also a best-selling author, as well as a playwright whose Dell wrote extensively on controversial social issues of the early 20th century, and played a major part in the political and social movements originating in New York City's Greenwich Village during the 1910s & 1920s. As editor of left-wing magazine The Masses Dell was twice put on trial for publishing subversive literature. Youth and early career Dell was born in Barry, Illinois on June 28, 1887 to Kate (Crone) and Anthony Dell, a Civil War veteran and unsuccessful butcher. Dell spent his childhood in poverty, with his family moving often. He lived in Quincy, Illinois, for a large portion of his childhood. Encouraged by his mother, a former school teacher, Dell became a voracious reader, spending much of his time at Quincy's local library. In 1903 Dell moved with his family to Davenport, Iowa, which was then a liberal and cosmopolitan port city and center of trade with a thriving literary and intellectual scene. Initially attending Davenport High School, Dell did not return to school after the summer of 1904, instead becoming a reporter at a local paper. Dell also became an active socialist, and associated with other local writers to form what would be called the 'Davenport group'. While in Davenport, Dell also began publishing poetry, in local papers, then in national periodicals. By the time Dell left Davenport for Chicago in 1908 he had escaped blue-collar life to emerge as a promising young professional writer and intellectual. In Chicago Dell became editor and book reviewer for of the Chicago Evening Post's nationally-distributed Friday Literary Review, the "leading organ of literary modernism in America at the time."Stansell, Christine, American Moderns: Bohemian New York and the Creation of a New Century, Princeton University Press; 1 edition (December 6, 2009) Dell used his position as editor to introduce many Americans to modernist literature and promote the work of many Chicago writers, including Theodore Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, and Carl Sandburg. Dell's further influence as a critic can be seen in the work of many major American writers from the first half of the 20th century. Greenwich Village Relocating to New York City in 1913, Dell became a leader of the pre-war bohemian community in Greenwich Village and managing editor of Max Eastman's radical magazine The Masses. Following the passing of the Espionage Act of 1917, the government officially labeled the magazine “treasonable material” in August of that year and issued charges against its staff for “unlawfully and willfully… obstructing the recruiting and enlistment of the United States" military. The "conspirators" faced fines up to $10,000 and 20 years imprisonment. After deliberating for three days, the jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision. The jurors seeking to convict the defendants blamed a juror for being unable to conform to the majority opinion, as he was also a socialist. Not only did the other 11 jurors demand the prosecutor to levy charges against the lone juror, but they attempted to drag the socialist supporter out into the street and lynch him. The Judge, given the uproar, declared a mistrial. A 2nd trial also resulted in a deadlocked jury. Dell joined fellow Davenporters Susan Glaspell and George Cram Cook as a member of the Provincetown Players and his play King Arthur's Socks was the first performed by that historic theater group. Later life and career Following the war, Dell turned to fiction and his first novel, the bildungsroman Moon-Calf, became a best seller. This was followed by several other novels with limited success. His autobiographical memoir, Homecoming, is a striking eyewitness view of the social and artistic-bohemian history of the midwest. Dell continued to publish both fiction and non-fiction until the end of his life. In 1935 Dell joined the WPA and U.S. Information Service, from which he retired following World War II. He marred Beatrice Marie, and had 2 sons. a son, Christopher Dell, became a writer as well. He married, had 2 daughters, then divorced and re-married Kate Kane. Kane has all of Dell's playwrights. With her he had a daughter, Mia Dell. She married and has 3 children. Floyd Dell died in Bethesda, Maryland. Publications Plays *''The Angel Intrudes: A play in one act''. New York: E. Arens, 1918. *''Sweet and Twenty: A comedy in one act''. Cincinnati, OH: Stewart Kidd, 1921. *''King Arthur's Socks, and other village plays''. New York: Knopf, 1922. Novels *''Moon-Calf: A novel''. New York: Knopf, 1920; London: Heinemann, 1922. *''The Briary-Bush: A novel''. New York: Knopf, 1921; London: Heinemann, 1922. *(1923) Janet March: A novel. New York: Knopf, 1923; London: Bodley Head, 1924. *''This Mad Ideal''. New York: Knopf, 1925; London: Bodley Head, 1925; Leipzig, Germany: Tauchnitz, 1925. *''Runaway: A novel''. . New York: Doran, 1925; Leipzig, Germany: Tauchnitz, 1926. *''Love in Greenwich Village''. New York: Doran, 1926; Leipzig, Germany: Tauchnitz, 1926; London & Toronto: Cassell, 1927; Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1970. *''An Old Man's Folly''. New York: Doran, 1926; London: Cassell, 1927. *''An Unmarried Father: A novel''. New York: Doran, 1927. *''Souvenir: A novel''. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran, 1929; London: Jarrolds, 1930. *''Love Without Money''. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1931. *''Diana Stair''. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1932. *''The Golden Spike''. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1934. Non-fiction *''Women as World Builders: Studies in modern feminism''. Chicago: Forbes, 1913. *''Were You Ever a Child?'' New York: Knopf, 1919. *''Looking at Life''. New York: Knopf, 1924. *''Intellectual Vagabondage: An apology for the intelligentsia''. New York: Doran, 1926. *''The Outline of Marriage''. New York: American Birth Control League, 1926. *''Upton Sinclair: A study in social protest''. New York: Doran, 1927; London: T.W. Laurie, 1927; New York: AMS Press, 1970. *''Love in the Machine Age: A psychological study of the transition from patriarchal society''. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1930. *''Homecoming: An autobiography''. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1933. *''Children and the Machine Age: From the seventh Iowa Conference on Child Development and Parent Education''. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press, 1934. *''Essays from the Friday Literary Review, 1909-1913'' (edited by R. Craig Sautter). Highland Park, IL: December Press, 1995. Edited *Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, Poems. London: Macmillan, 1923; New York: Knopf, 1923. *Robert Herrick, Poems. Girard, KS: Haldeman-Julius (Little Blue Book 701), 1924. *William Blake, Prose and Poems. Girard, KS: Haldeman-Julius (Little Blue Book 677), 1925. *John Reed, Daughter of the Revolution, and other stories. New York: Vanguard Press, 1927. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Floyd Dell, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, June 7, 2015. Plays *(1913) Human Nature: A Very Short Morality Play. *(1914) Chaste Adventures Of Joseph: A Comedy. *(1914) Ibsen Revisited: A Piece Of Foolishness. *(1915) Enigma: A Domestic Conversation. *(1915) Rim Of The World: A Fantasy. *(1915) Legend: A Romance. *(1916) King Arthur's Socks: A Comedy. *(1917) Long Time Ago: A Tragic Fantasy. *(1917) Angel Intrudes: A Comedy. *(1918) Sweet-And-Twenty: A Comedy. *(1920) Poor Harold: A Comedy. *(1928) Little Accident. Poems by Floyd Dell #[[Apologia / Floyd Dell|''Apologia'']] See also *List of English-language playwrights References * Dell, Floyd; Homecoming: An Autobiography, New York Farrar & Rinehart Incorporated (1933). * Clayton, Douglas; Floyd Dell: The Life and Times of an American Rebel, (Chicago: Ivan R, Dee, 1994). * Hart, John E; Floyd Dell, Twayne Publishers Inc (New York: 1971). Notes External links ;Poems *Floyd Dell in Poetry: A magazine of verse, 1912-1922: "[http://www.bartleby.com/300/448.html Apologia]," "Song" ;Audio / video *Floyd Dell works at YouTube ;Books * *Floyd Dell at Amazon.com ;About * Floyd Dell in the Encyclopædia Britannica *Floyd Dell at NNDB * Floyd Dell at Spartacus Educational. * Floyd Dell: A respectable radical * Floyd Dell in Iowa * [http://voicemalemagazine.org/summer-2013-issue/feminism-for-men-in-1914/ Backwards Glance: Feminism for Men in 1914] ;Etc. * Floyd Dell Papers and Miriam Gurko-Floyd Dell Papers at the Newberry Library Category:1887 births Category:1969 deaths Category:20th-century American novelists Category:American communists Category:American conscientious objectors Category:American editors Category:American feminist writers Category:American literary critics Category:American male novelists Category:American socialists Category:People from Pike County, Illinois Category:Persons acquitted under the Espionage Act of 1917 Category:Writers from Davenport, Iowa Category:20th-century American poets Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Category:American male poets Category:20th-century poets Category:American poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:20th-century authors Category:American authors Category:Authors